Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37626368›Full record

ArticleBMC nursing2023

Measuring health professionals' perceptions of communication contributing to medication incidents in hospitals - scale development and primary results of weekly perceived communication challenges.

Tiina Syyrilä, Katri Vehviläinen-Julkunen, Santtu Mikkonen, Marja Härkänen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC nursing, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Tiina SyyriläDepartment of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), PO Box 1627, Kuopio, 70211, Finland. tiina.syyrila@uef.fi.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5351-4468
Katri Vehviläinen-JulkunenDepartment of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), PO Box 1627, Kuopio, 70211, Finland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6828-8261
Santtu MikkonenDepartment of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), Kuopio, Finland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0595-0657
Marja HärkänenDepartment of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), PO Box 1627, Kuopio, 70211, Finland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8542-8193

Funding

Itä-Suomen Yliopisto Early-stage researcher funding for the first author
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCommunication challenges are one of the main contributors for medication incidents in hospitals, but health professionals' perceptions about variety of the contributing communication factors and the factors' occurrence frequencies are studied little. This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to (1) operationalize a literature-based framework into a scale for measuring health professionals' perceptions of communication factors, which contribute to medication incidents either directly or indirectly in hospitals, (2) to measure the construct validity and internal consistency of the scale and (3) to describe the primary results of the measured weekly perceived communication challenges.

methodsThe structured online questionnaire with 82 communication related items was developed based on a framework in literature. A content validity index of expert panelists' answers was used for item reduction. Data was collected between November 1st, 2019, and January 31st, 2020, by convenience sampling. The study sample (n = 303) included multiple health professional groups in diverse specialties, unit types and organizational levels in two specialized university hospital districts in Finland. Exploratory factor analysis with Maximum Likelihood method and Oblique rotation produced a six factors scale consisting of 57 items and having acceptable construct validity and internal consistency.

resultsThe six communication factors contributing to medication incidents concerned (1) medication prescriptions, (2) guidelines and reporting, (3) patient and family, (4) guideline implementation,5) competencies and responsibilities, and 6) attitude and atmosphere. The most frequently perceived communication challenges belonged to the Medication prescription related factor. Detailed item frequencies suggested that the most usual weekly challenges were: (1) lack or unclarity of communication about medication prescriptions, (2) missing the prescriptions which were written outside of the regular physician-ward-rounds and (3) digital software restricting information transfer.

conclusionsThe scale can be used for determining the most frequent detailed communication challenges. Confirmatory factor analysis of the scale is needed with a new sample for the scale validation. The weekly perceived communication challenges suggest that interventions are needed to standardize prescribing documentation and to strengthen communication about prescriptions given outside of regular ward-rounds.

Indexed as

CommunicationHospitalsIncidentMedicationMedication safetyScale

Identifiers

PMID37626368
PMCPMC10463788

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.